Time to rally ‘round our own

Text: TT

Love. Comforting words. Prayer. The singular way this community comes together, and rallies around its own.

This is why we live here.

There is no way to grasp the shock and grief we feel as we put our arms around the Deeds family this week. This one family has given so much to us, it’s hard to recount the numerous ways they have touched our lives, supported us, and made our quality of life in the Highlands much improved.

Now, it’s time to support them. More than ever.

Creigh Deeds is not your run-of-the-mill politician. He wears the whitest of white hats — a good, hard-working man who takes great pride in his family, his community, his state, and his country.

We’ve been aghast at some of the statewide, national, and international sensationalistic stories printed about Tuesday’s tragic events. It’s hard to read and hear; it’s hard to fathom how much insensitivity has erupted.

But we know better.

We know our friend, Creigh Deeds; we know his family, and we have watched his children grow up. While major news reporters have descended before, and they have again, friends and neighbors stand ready to protect the Deeds’ privacy.

We have lost a highly talented young man in Gus. He was a cherished son, brother, and grandson. A young man who loved his family deeply, especially his father. Let us remember as we pray for Creigh’s recovery that there is an extraordinarily difficult road ahead for them all, and they loved Gus; we all did.

This community is remarkable in its strength, its brotherhood, and it’s time to rise to that occasion once more. We, of all communities, can come together to protect this family, and provide a loving environment of healing. That’s what we do.

As public a life as the Deeds family has had over their more than four decades of leadership, generous outreach, and passion for our area — and the whole of Virginia — they deserve peace as they come to grips with their loss.

Of all people, Creigh would tell us to bring our prayers to his family, not attention to his injuries.

Let’s keep them held up, keep rumors at bay, and keep our prayers right here at home where they need to be.